


Electric

by luwalhati



Series: Electric Trilogy [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post Canon, Basketball, Crossover, F/M, OC-centric, Pining, Valentine's Day, Volleyball
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-10 01:09:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12900738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luwalhati/pseuds/luwalhati
Summary: This is not a love story.





	1. Emerald

**“Ryou, don’t look now,” Ai** says, propping her cheek on her hand. She points to the classroom door, wearing a bemused smirk. “Someone’s looking for you. It’s not that hard to tell what with her shooting laser beams at the back of your head.”

Removing himself from his lax position in his seat, Ryouta lets out an imperceptible sigh. Ai is the only one to witness it. _Must not let the crown fall._ “Who is it?”

“It’s a tiny girl with the craziest hair,” she says, squinting her eyes. Disapproval is written all over her face. “Your girls are getting more daring, Ryou—seriously, seeking you out at lunchtime?” 

“I’ll be right back, Ai-tan.” He resists the urge to groan as he makes his way to the girl. She has a pocket-sized reporter’s notebook in her hand, a pen in the other, and a high-end camera slung over her shoulder. There’s a glint in her eyes that startle Ryouta—not daunting, but _intense_. 

“Hey,” he says, articulating smoothness into the monosyllable. He buries his hands into the pockets of his pants. “How can I help you?”

“Kise-senpai,” she says, bowing. “I’m sorry to interrupt your break. May I have a word with you outside?” 

Ryouta shoots Ai a glance over his shoulder before following his underclassman into the hallway. A frown is snug on her lips.

Despite his exasperation, Ryouta can’t help but admire the untamed blonde curls that frame the girl’s face, refusing to be contained by an elastic hair tie. It’s so unlike Ai’s long, warm brown, not a single strand out of place, combed a thousand times by his careful fingers. _Ryou, don’t, it hurts_ , she says, but inclines her head to his touch anyway, unconsciously purring out approval. Like a cat. Ryouta hides his smile. Ai-neko. Neko-Ai. Nekai?  

“I’m Hanashi Kiyoko,” the girl says now. Her smile is brimming with assertion. “I’m with the school paper. Tachibana-sensei just gave our editor-in-chief the green light to have a Valentine’s Day special article covering several known Kaijo High couples and we’d like—”

“And you’d like to interview Ai-tan and me?” Ryouta laughs, but all in good nature. “I’m sorry Hanashi-san, as much as I would like to participate, Ai-tan and I…we’re not really a couple. We’re just friends.”

But he can’t deny being mistaken like this sets something alight in him. A pleasant misunderstanding. 

Hanashi’s eyes go wide, her mouth agape. “Really? But we all thought…Oh god, Kise-senpai, on behalf of the school paper, no, the entire school, I apologize! I never realized…”

Ryouta smiles. Has everyone really regarded them like that? Boyfriend and girlfriend? Dating? In love? “Nah, it’s okay, Hanashi-san. No harm done.”

Hanashi bows again, this time in farewell. “Well, I guess this means I have to go. Do you know any third year couples we can interview Kise-senpai? Most of them are in the second year.” 

He thinks for a moment. He doesn’t really fill his idle time involving himself in school gossip. “Not really, Hanashi-san. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Kise-senpai. Thanks anyway.”

As she walks away, Ryouta takes a moment to admire the beauty of thawing winter through the window. The copses of trees on the schoolyard don silver and green, and the juxtaposition makes the darker hue stand out, gleaming like shiny emeralds. Overhead, the sky has yet to allow the sun her time. The desaturated clouds that cage her in remind him of gray eyes and thick eyelashes. 

There are things you regret forever. And there are things you regret now, then remember with amused fondness afterwards. 

With a grin, Ryouta breaks off into a jog—to the direction Hanashi has gone. _I hope you’ll still love me._ He rounds a corner and finds her, right outside Class 3-3, and clasps her shoulders with both of his hands. “Hanashi-san,” he says, urgency riddled in his tone. 

“Oh, Kise-senpai,” she says in surprise. “What’s wrong?” 

“I have the stupidest idea for your article. You’re going to love it. Meet me at The Flamingo after six.” 

“The Flamingo? What’s that? I haven’t heard of it before.”

“Google it.” Ryouta removes his hands, suddenly overcome with pride for himself. 

Hanashi is quick to fish out her phone. She taps the name on the search bar, and what she finds elicits a gasp from her. “But this is over in Tokyo! This is going to cost me an entire week’s money!”

But Ryouta is already slinking back to his classroom. He waves his hand. “Guess that means you have one on me!”

When he comes back, Ai raises an eyebrow at him. She crosses her arms over chest. “You seem incredibly happy. Should I ask why?”

“I have a date after practice,” he lies, sliding into his seat beside her. He searches for any change in expression on her face. 

“That quick?” There isn’t. 

“Eh, she was so persistent.” His heart sinks into his stomach. “I have nothing else to do, anyway. Might as well.”

“Hmmm.” Ai purses her lips. “Please reassure me that I won’t have to deal with an accosting, soon-to-be-jealous-girlfriend?”

“No promises.” Ryouta chuckles, but there’s no mirth in his eyes. He looks away before Ai can find out.  

 


	2. Pink Feathers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Flamingo is the perfect place for story time.

The chill February afternoon finds Ryouta and Ai in the classroom, packing their belongings before they head out. The shrill dismissal bell has just rung, and everyone around them is scampering around, eager to leave school. Most of them no longer have any club commitments to attend to, including Ryouta. Basketball practices have officially ended last week, and since then he has spent his newfound free time concentrating on his modeling gigs and listening to Ai play.

“Ryou, what’re you doing before your date?” Ai asks, slinging her book bag over her shoulder. She sweeps her hair over the other. “Do you have work?”

“Wait, let me just check.” He brings out his phone and scrolls through his digital planner. He doesn’t have a shoot until Wednesday. “I’m clear, Ai-tan. Why? Did you have something in mind you wanted to do?”

They trot out of their classroom, Ryouta waving to some of their classmates in goodbye, mostly the girls. _Chin high, crown in place. Always._

When they get to the hallway, Ai answers, “I’m planning to go look for a job, but I don’t know what type of work I want to apply for. It’s just a really fuzzy decision I came up with last night.”

He knits his eyebrows. This is the first time he has heard her name and the word ‘job’ used within a single context. Though his modeling does come in with a long list of privileges, enabling him to mix business with pleasure, it’s still work. And it’s still exhausting. Before he began, he never realized having his picture taken at several different angles would pull a considerable weight on him. (His agency has already prepared a contract for him to sign soon after he finishes high school—For fashion shows, his manager told him, just local brands, kid, no pressure.)  
But Ai, well…She never really lifts a finger to get what she wants. Things just fall into her lap, like they’re fated to be hers. Plus, she doesn’t even like to waste her energy, so—

“Why did you suddenly think of that?”

Ai looks at him, biting her lip. “It’s all because of you, Ryou.”

“Me?” He blinks.

They climb down the stairs, Ai’s shoulder bumping his arm. “Yeah. I’ve been watching you juggle two lives, playing basketball and being a model, since we met, and you barely break a sweat. I want to be like that, you know? And you get to have all these cool things without having to depend on somebody else’s bank account, which does not hurt at all.”

She huffs when they get to the bottom. “It’s so awesome.”

“Ah, Kise, great timing!” a voice chimes in, and the pair turn to find Genta Takeuchi, the basketball team’s coach.

“Oh, Takeuchi-sensei,” Ryouta says, bowing out of habit. “What’s up? Uh, I mean, you needed me?”

Takeuchi-sensei grins at him, loosening the beige tie around his collar. “I was going to ask someone to call you, but it seems I’ve caught you at the perfect time. Anyway, seeing as you’re about to go, come to the faculty office tomorrow at noon. I’ve something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

Ryouta casts a questioning look at Ai, who shrugs in response. He replies, “But, sensei, I don’t mind if you call me in right now. I don’t exactly have a lot going on.”

Takeuchi-sensei waves him off. “No, no, it’s not something we can toss around in passing. Tomorrow it is, Kise, and don’t be late. I’ll be taking my leave now, stay safe, you two.”

As soon as Takeuchi-sensei is out of earshot, Ryouta asks Ai, “What do you think he wants to talk about?”

They resume walking. Ryouta keeps his strides slow so Ai can catch up with him—something Ai used to consider as an insult but now takes it in gratitude. To this day, Ryouta still finds watching her small legs catch up with his very amusing. She answers, “Dunno. Bet it has something to do with your grades?”

He pouts, his shoulders drooping. He’s never been up there, with Ai and Midorima and Akashi, when it comes to academics, but he’s confident he does a considerable amount of justice for his grades. “I think I’ve done fairly well in the last couple of terms, Ai-tan! ”

Ai shakes her head, hands akimbo. “Not by my standards, Ryou. Not by my standards.”

It’s barely half an hour since they’ve been let out, but the school grounds are practically deserted. Very few clubs are still active, as most have retired early to accommodate for their senior members, who are expected to focus on their finals as well as on college admissions. It’s all a sudden change for Ryouta—he is still acclimating to the feel of a quiet Kaijo High after class.

Upon reaching the gate, Ryouta pauses. “Oh, are you going to look for a job today, Ai-tan?”

Ai seems to ponder over this for a minute as she looks over her shoulder, to the passing cars. Then she shakes her head. “Nah, I think I’ll have to run this by Arata first. You know him, likes to be in control of our lives. But I’ll keep you posted if and when I do go job hunting. I need my wingman, of course!”

He loops an arm around her and pulls her closer. “That means we can go for a thousand rounds of ice cream today! And guess who’s paying!”

“You, obviously! You’re my only loaded friend!”

“Ai-tan!”

 

The Flamingo is a quaint little cafe nestled between a Nike retail store and a family-owned hardware. Ryouta admits it’s not much, but every time he has a shoot scheduled in Tokyo he makes sure to bring Ai along so she can hang out here. He is fully aware that Ai takes to orbiting her life around her severe detest for any type of social setting, so it came as a surprise to him when she instantly developed a liking to The Flamingo—perhaps this is because, lined against the wall in the corner, stands a twenty-year-old pink upright piano. It is the only place he has taken her to that has a piano. So, instead of sleeping on the black, smelly couch at the studio (which Ai has fitfully dubbed as the ‘cigarette pouch’) while she waits for him to wrap up, Ai waits for him here, at The Flamingo, playing for customers, free of charge.

Ryouta, seated by the window, observes the sky outside has darkened and the deluge of pedestrians congeals. Hanashi Kiyoko is fifteen minutes late, and within that span of time Watanabe Fujioko, the owner, makes idle conversation with him. Ryouta and Ai have known her for almost as long as they know each other. There is no day in which Ai and Ryouta share a slice of cake at The Flamingo that Watanabe-san does not express eagerness to introduce her daughter to them. And today is no exception, of course.

She sits in the vacant seat opposite Ryouta. He watches her dimples crease as she smiles at him. “Kise-kun, how have you been?” Looking around, she asks, “Are you waiting for Ai-chan?”

He shakes his head, wearing his best panty-dropping (though adult-friendly) smile. “She has her hands full with something. Actually, I’m here to meet a friend.”

“Oh.” Curious, Watanabe-san arcs an eyebrow at him. “Is this friend a lady, perhaps?”

He laughs—the kind that puts other people at ease. He’s a master at it. “Well, yes, Watanabe-san, but she’s here strictly on business. She’s going to interview me for our school paper.”

“Hmmm, my Kise-kun is quite popular then?” She pinches Ryouta’s cheek. Her eyes flit to the wall clock behind Ryouta, and a broad grin lights up her face. “Oooh, Kise-kun! Look at that! Ayumi-chan’s shift is going to start—you can finally meet her!”

“Really? What a coincidence! It seems destiny has allowed us to finally meet.” In the two years that Ryouta and Ai have been coming to The Flamingo, they have never been introduced to Watanabe Ayumi. She’s become a peripheral mystery to them overtime, but with how much her mother gushes about her, Ryouta feels as if she is a vivid memory of a past life, an old friend. A dog-eared picture tucked inside his wallet.

“How exciting!” Watanabe-san clasps her hands together. “She’s also going to bring her friend, who’s into sports, much like you. You play volleyball, don’t you, Kise-kun?”

He shakes his head and lightly corrects her, “No, Watanabe-san. Basketball. I play basketball. I actually made it into the finals this year.”

Maybe he used to play volleyball back in Teiko, before he was picked up by Akashi and the rest. Or not. Everything that existed beyond the basketball gym is now distorted in his mind. Lost in another lifetime.

Watanabe-san shrugs. “What’s the difference again?”

They chat further about school, Ai’s music, and of course Watanabe Ayumi. Hanashi finally comes just when Watanabe-san starts listing off Ayumi’s hobbies. Ryouta breathes out a small sigh.

“Ah! Sorry, I’m late Kise-senpai!” Hanashi pants out. Her eyes land on Watanabe-san. “Oh, am I interrupting something?”

“Nothing too important, child.” Smiling, Watanabe-san stands up and beckons her seat to Hanashi. “Here, sit, sit.”

“Thank you.”

Watanabe-san clasps her hands together, masking indifference. Her business face. “I’ll be taking my leave now, gotta get back to my books. I’ll bring in Hiroshi to take your orders. Enjoy your stay, you two.”

“Thanks, Watanabe-san.”

Hanashi sets her camera on the table, along with a pen, notebook, and a beat-up iPhone. “Sorry you had to wait so long, Kise-senpai. I have a valid reason. It wasn’t because I was lost. I swear.”

Ryouta’s eyebrows raise.

“My editor-in-chief, Fujiwara Renji, took his sweet time approving my trip here as OB. Says there’s no legitimacy to this interview. Well, I’m going to show him.”  
Just then, Hiroshi—tall, sandy blonde, a smirk on his freckled face—approaches their table. He nods to Ryouta. “Hey, Prince, no Ai today?”

Ryouta narrows his eyes at the moniker. Hiroshi knows how much Ryouta can’t stand being called that. Ever since Ai pushed open the cafe’s glass doors, he has not stopped buttering himself up to her. And Ai has not stopped ignoring him, too, thankfully. “She’s busy.”

“Shame, Watanabe-san had the piano cleaned today,” he says, before pulling out a small notepad from his breast pocket. “So what’ll it be for you two today?”

“A cup of Americano please,” Hanashi answers without missing a beat.

“Got it.” Hiroshi scribbles her order down. He tips his head to Ryouta. “And how ‘bout you, Prince?”

“I’ll have just a milkshake, and can I have a slice of Matilda fudge cake to go?” After a thought he adds, “And a matcha latte, also to go.”

As soon as Hiroshi leaves, Hanashi turns on the recorder on her phone. “Now, senpai, let’s begin.”

Ryouta raises a hand to rub a spot on his nape. “Ah, about that, Hanashi-san, I need your help.”

She tilts her head to the side. “My help? How?”

A nervous laugh pours out of his mouth. “I guess I have to be honest with you here, Hanashi-san. I haven’t really thought that far about my plan. It just…came to me all of a sudden.”

“Okay, so what do you have in mind then, senpai?”

Ryouta thinks for a moment, looking out the window. All afternoon he has thought about this, and yet, nothing worthwhile has come to him like a fever dream. “Well, I’m still going to do the interview, that I’m sure of. But, considering as she isn’t aware of this, and I’m basically exploiting her name, I want Ai-tan to get something out of this—how, though, I have no idea.”

“And this is where I come in, I presume. Boys, really—you’re only good at thinking things up and letting us do the dirty work for you.” Hanashi sighs and pages through her notebook until she finds a blank page. “Okay, let’s start with the interview. I can think of something from there.”

Ryouta’s eyes light up. His heart drowns in relief at her words. “You’ll do it, Hanashi-san? Really? You’re going to help me?”

Hanashi leans back. “Yeah, I guess. This isn’t about getting a big scoop anymore, seeing as how much Mizushima-senpai means to you. It would feel like I was betraying you. Plus, the school paper is going to benefit a lot from the Kise Ryouta publicly professing his feelings for Mizushima Ai, the ice queen.”

A frown forms on Ryouta’s face. “It’s not that, Hanashi-san. And Ai-tan’s not an ice queen. It’s more like…she’s become an important person in my life, and I know what people say about her. She’s not the nicest person on the surface, I agree, but I want to show them that Ai-tan’s not just one side. She’s amazing, Hanashi-san. I wish more people could see that.”

“And while Mizushima-senpai is feared by most, Kise-senpai is nothing if not the king of grand gestures. Let’s just hope for both our sakes she digs things like this, shall we?” She sits up straighter and motions with her pen. “Tell me the beginning of everything, senpai, how it all started. And don’t leave anything out. Oh, they’re all going to love this.”

Eyes closed, Ryouta purses his lips. A feeling blooms in his chest, one he can’t exactly name. Then, he speaks: “You know what they all say, there are three sides to a story—my side, her side, and the truth. I’ll try my best to tell all of the sides. I won’t promise you everything’s pretty. I gotta tell you, Hanashi-san, as much as I love the girl, my relationship with Ai-tan is the messiest I’ve ever been in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I got the title for this story from Alina Baraz's Electric! Her song was my main inspiration for Kise and Ai's relationship.  
> \- Next update will be on December 16th  
> Thanks for reading! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Don't forget to drop a comment below – it would mean so much to me!  
> Updates are posted every Saturday.


End file.
